Pharmacological Properties and Health Benefits of Aquilaria Leaf Extract: A Review of its Antioxidant, Antidiabetic, Antimicrobial, Anti-Inflammatory, and Gastrointestinal Regulation Effect

Abstract

 Aquilaria or Karas tree belongs to the Thymelaeaceae family, a famous agarwood producer. This plant is widely distributed in the Indomalesia region, including Malaysia. Recently, these plants have attracted the attention of researchers. Infected wood resin from Aquilaria plants, also known as agarwood, is widely used for perfume production, religious and medicinal purposes. Due to the long development time of the plants and the need to inoculate them to initiate agarwood resin production, farmers have sought an alternative source of income by marketing the leaves of the Aquilaria tree. Aquilaria leaves are also known to have antioxidant, antidiabetic, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties and are commonly used to regulate the gastrointestinal tract. In contrast to the abundant benefits of the Aquilaria leaves, there were lacking reports on the cytotoxicity of the leaves and their extract. Therefore, this review investigates and points out the pharmacological properties of Aquilaria leaves, their human health benefits, and toxicity of the leaves based on the in-vitro and in-vivo studies as it is crucial for safety consumption and downstream applications, including food and beverages, pharmaceutical and cosmeceutical industry.